Credence
by Aerika-san
Summary: Part Two of Three.  After Decline Allen & Kanda go their separate ways, perhaps forever.  While apart, their lives move in two very different directions. Yullen, PokerPair, impliedTykiXOC, pastTykix14th. Non-con/dub-con, torture and all that jazz.
1. Prologue

STOP! Have you read Decline? No? Go read it first- this is a sequel and thus won't make much sense until you do. If the answer was yes, go ahead!

Hello again! As promised, the first chapter of Decline's sequel "Credence" is up before Christmas. Now then, whats happened since I was last uploading? Well not much actually. I've started a new job which is actually good news for all of us, as it gives me tuesdays off which I can now spend writing! Yay! So, at the moment expect fortnigtly updates on tuesdays. At the moment Crede is expected to run to about fifteen chapters.

So, thanks for reading, and happy (insert applicable seasonal holiday here) to you all!

* * *

**Credence**

**Prologue**

Allen rolled over sleepily without opening his eyes. He felt a little stiff, but, he supposed, after the night before, he should be grateful that he was only suffering a little stiffness. A rather silly grin spread across his face at the thought.

"What the fuck are you smirking at, idiot?" Kanda's sharp voice broke the relaxed silence in the room with all the subtlety of a brick through a window.

Allen blinked his eyes open slowly, focussing on Kanda's face where it floated above him. Despite the prickly tone, Kanda's face was free of his usual scowl; one corner of his mouth quirked up when he saw Allen looking at him, which for Kanda was as good as a full-fledged grin.

Allen said nothing, rolling onto his side and propping his head onto his elbow. Kanda's hand came to a rest on his bare waist, thumb sweeping back and forth across smooth skin absently. "What?" he said eventually, when Kanda's eyes refused to leave his face and the gentle motions of his thumb threatened to send him back to sleep.

Kanda didn't reply, though the faintest of flushes spread rather prettily across his nose as he leaned over and pressed his lips to Allen's.

The kiss was hesitant and soft, as though Kanda was unsure whether it would be welcome, despite what had passed between them the night before. Allen snorted internally. As if he'd have allowed _anything_ to have occurred between them if he'd thought that he'd have regretted it the following morning.

To prove it, he threaded his hand in the still loose hair at the back of Kanda's neck and brought them closer together, pressing his mouth fully onto Kanda's and sliding his tongue provocatively across the older man's lower lip.

A rough noise that might have been a moan had it been allowed to fully develop trembled from Kanda's lips and into Allen's mouth as Kanda's hand slid from Allen's waist and up his side, trailing along his back and burying long fingers into tangled brown hair.

Allen's head was pulled back so that Kanda could see his face, resting their foreheads together and breathing heavily.

"No regrets then?" Kanda asked, just to be sure. He hated revealing that he felt anything even like insecure to anybody, but Allen had changed his mind before, and Kanda needed to make sure that Allen knew exactly what he was getting himself into. Kanda had wanted him for quite some time, even if he hadn't realised it, and now that he had had him, he didn't ever want to go back to how it was before.

"Never," Allen breathed, his eyes slightly glazed, and he blinked a few times, trying to bring Kanda's face into focus, but struggling because of the lack of distance between them. He let go of Kanda's hair and brought his hand round to Kanda's face, cupping his jaw tenderly as a small smile broke out across his face. "_Never"_ he emphasised.

"Well good," Kanda sniffed haughtily. "Because I'd have to kill you if you did." And he tried not to feel too offended when Allen laughed at him.

* * *

0o0o0o0

* * *

Josephine King was no coward. Life on the streets had taught her that in order to survive, she had to be scarier than anyone else. Granted, that hadn't been entirely achievable- as a child it had been impossible _not _to be afraid of some of the adults who stalked the city's streets, especially since she had a desperate secret to hide as well as her general well-being to be concerned about. If any of the thugs that she came into contact with on a daily basis had realised that 'Joe' was actually Josephine, then who knew where she'd have ended up.

Of course, who knew where she would have ended up without Allen's interference?

She shook that thought away. That part of her life was over now.

Last night, Tyki had taken her to an upmarket hotel, booked her into her own private suite of rooms, and then this morning, he had taken her shopping.

Shopping. In Paris.

Well, of course, shopping full-stop was still a novelty. All her life she had had to steal to survive. Why pay for something that she could get for free? It was only after Allen… she cut that thought of there, before it could take her down a road she had no wish to go down.

But Tyki was different. He had treated her like a lady, something she found new and exciting. She had been pretending to be a boy for so long, she had almost forgotten what it was like to wear a skirt.

Now she had a new, complete wardrobe. Hats and gloves, corsets and petticoats, dresses with trumpet-shaped skirts that clung to her hips and rustled luxuriously as she walked. Heeled boots and shawls, bonnets and parasols, skirts and blouses, beach wear and evening gowns of silk that draped from her shoulders and hung in a shimmering train. Jo had never even _seen_ half the styles and colours that her newly-stocked wardrobe contained. And Tyki spoilt her rotten. Anything she admired, it was hers. Diamonds and gold, glittering sapphires and emeralds, she now owned more jewellery than she had thought existed, broaches and hatpins, rings and necklaces, it was endless.

And as she promenaded back to the hotel on his arm along the banks of the Seine, she had noticed the admiring looks that they had attracted.

Tyki had not attempted to get close to her though, which puzzled her a little. From what she had seen growing up, it was typical for a man to spend his money buying trinkets for his whore, and the fact that Tyki didn't seem to _want_ anything from her just confused her more. Surely the man would not be spending so much of his money and time on her if he _didn't_ want something from her.

Sure, he had taken her away from… _them_, saved her from going back into danger. He was a man of God, after all… maybe he didn't _do_ that, like a monk. She pondered this. As far as she knew, monks were dirty old men with grabby hands that lusted after young boys, not handsome, suave young gentlemen who spoke to her softly, like she was something precious. That worried her. Tyki was treating her like something fragile, easily broken, as if she had not spent the formative years of her life crawling through gutters. She wondered if that was because of how he had found her, having a breakdown and punching a solid brick wall to vent her frustration. Maybe she had been in more danger than she thought, those few weeks she spent in Allen's company.

Dammit. She swiped at her eyes angrily, wiping her cheeks on a lace-edged handkerchief and accidentally smearing the delicate rouge she had dabbed there. She promised herself that she would not cry any more, Allen Walker and his… _boyfriend_ (and how that thought made her shudder- she had been attracted to a dammed _homosexual_), were part of a life that she wasn't part of anymore, and if she heard _his_ name mentioned every again, it would be too soon.

* * *

0o0o0o0

* * *

"Allen Walker?"

Tyki picked at his fingernails with an air on complete unconcern. "That's what I said, isn't it?"

"Our sources say he disappeared from the Order months ago. What is he doing turning up in France?" Lulubell frowned, pulling her blonde ponytail over her shoulder and finger combing it.

"He wasn't alone either" Tyki added with a grin, a magician pulling off a great trick. "That sword-wielding exorcist was with him, the Japanese one."

Lulubell's tiny frown deepened ever so slightly. "I'm not sure I understand" she admitted, though she seemed untroubled by the inaccuracy of her information. "Our source said that Walker had abandoned the Order, a traitor, no longer one of the fold." She grimaced as the ambiguity of the situation truly struck her. "So what would an exorcist be doing with him? Has more than one exorcist turned their back on the order?"

"I don't think that he'd turned his back on the Order," Tyki said with a sly grin. "I just think that being around Walker has some benefits that he'd rather not go without."

It took a lot to surprise the female Noah, but the expression on her face now as she realised what Tyki was hinting at was pure unadulterated shock. "What?"

"Not that I blame him…" the male Noah mused thoughtfully, continuing as though Lulubell had not spoken. "Walker has always been attractive, and even disguised…" he trailed off, licking his lips suggestively.

The other Noah lifted her head and sniffed disdainfully. "You and your deviance sicken me. Now, what of the girl?"

Tyki shrugged, a motion that showed his supreme unconcern. "She's lived with the brat, she might know something. And when her usefulness has been served, I'll get rid of her. You think Rhode would like a new doll?"


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Komui closed his eyes and sighed, rubbing his forehead with tense fingers as he tried to ease the growing headache from his mind.

What a nightmare this whole situation was turning out to be. He half wished that he had never helped Allen escape. It was a selfish thought to be sure, but life had become so difficult for everyone at the Order since Allen left that he felt justified in thinking it, if only for a moment.

He shook his head, which only served to aggravate his growing headache more. There really hadn't been anything he could have done differently at the time, and there was no way that he could have just handed Allen over to Leverrier, no matter how much easier it would have made his life since.

He sighed again, removing his beret and pushing his hands through his hair. He was waiting for a call from Kanda. The exorcist hadn't reported in for a couple of days, ever since he had been given the last mission, and he was starting to get a bit worried. Add to that the fact that Allen was supposedly accompanying him… well anything could have happened.

He wasn't looking forward to this conversation at all. Kanda had been out in the field for a little under a month now, and had avoided questioning about the incident. Until now, that is. Just an hour ago, Komui had Leverrier standing in his office demanding that the next time that Kanda reported in, he was to be ordered to return to Headquarters. It didn't look like the man was going to take no for an answer.

Komui didn't think that the exorcist was going to be impressed with that order. He didn't understand it himself- there was no reason that Kanda and Allen's lives should have become so entwined, but for whatever the explanation, Kanda, the only exorcist that seemed to hate Allen Walker from the very first day that he arrived at Headquarters, purely for _being_ Allen Walker, now seemed perfectly happy to spend otherwise useful mission time in the company of the disgraced ex-exorcist.

Komui sucked in a breath as a thought struck him, or rather, the secret romantic within him- maybe they were… Nah, that couldn't be it, preposterous! It probably had something to do with Kanda's hate of Leverrier and his minions, which was bound to be higher than any level of hate he felt for a mere exorcist, no matter how annoying he thought that exorcist was. Komui decided not to spend too much time trying to understand the way that Kanda's mind worked, since that was just asking for trouble.

The phone rang, jolting him out of his musings and causing him to spill coffee all over the incomplete paperwork that coated his desk. "Hello, Supervisor Lee speaking."

"It's me."

"Kanda, thank goodness! I was worried something had happened to you!" Komui breathed a sigh of relief that transferred noisily down the phone line. "What took so long? Is everything okay?"

There was a pregnant pause from the other end before Kanda sighed heavily, sounding more exhausted than Komui had ever heard him before. What had happened to make Kanda, who was usually so reserved about showing what he was feeling, so careless about what he revealed. "We retrieved the innocence as ordered and destroyed the Akuma." Kanda stopped for a moment, but Komui could tell there was more to come and wisely held his tongue, waiting for Kanda to continue, and wondering what had happened to make Kanda so damn jumpy.

"The Noah Tyki Mikk was there."

Komui waited for Kanda to expand on that rather simplified report. Although the fact that the Noah had been there was alarming, it was not unexpected. The Earl and his minions were getting braver of late, so the exorcists were bound to run into them more often. Come to think of it, the increased activity of the Earl's army could be traced back to when Allen left the Order a couple of months ago.

"We were injured. And they recognised him."

Well, shit.

Komui was stunned into silence for a moment while he digested this news. What on Earth was he to suggest? If Kanda stayed out in the field, disobeying Leverrier's orders, then both of them would be in a whole heap of trouble. On the other hand, Kanda coming back to headquarters was tantamount to abandoning Allen for the Earl to pick up at his earliest convenience.

"Leverrier wants you back here, Kanda" Komui said. "They are still waiting to question you about the night that Walker disappeared." He hated talking as though Allen was a traitor, but the walls had ears and he didn't trust that this conversation would not make it back to Leverrier. It would not be the first time that surveillance equipment was smuggled into his office while he slept. Of course, maybe he'd be able to find them better if he could just _see_ more of the room, but those damn stacks of paper were just everywhere! It was only thanks to this phone's unique design (courtesy of himself) that he could trust that no one could hear what Kanda was saying at the other end of the connection.

"That's bullshit" Kanda said frankly. "He's clutching at straws. There's no way I can leave now." _'There's no way I can leave Allen now'_ echoed unsaid.

"You don't have a choice Kanda. The orders are for you to return to the Order, and there's really no reason for you to be in the field. There are no current missions outstanding."

Kanda cursed loudly and violently over the phone line. "What the fuck Komui? Can't you do anything?"

"Orders are orders, Kanda. No matter how much you may like gallivanting all over the world, we are fighting a war here, not running a holiday camp." _'I wish I could, Kanda, but this is out of my hands now.'_

"Fine" Kanda replied, obviously unhappy and not afraid to show it. "I'll leave tomorrow."

"We'll see you in a week then. Stay safe."

0o0o0o0o0

Allen stood at the window of his room, staring out blankly across the Parisian rooftops. What on Earth was he supposed to do now?

Kanda had left some time ago to call Komui, and there was a distinct possibility that Kanda would be called back to headquarters. What would Allen do then? He couldn't follow… even disguised there would be too much opportunity for other people to recognise him or his innocence, which of course was one of the most recognisable parts of his body. It would be dangerous for the others who knew his secret too- going back, no matter how much he wanted to, was just a stupid, stupid idea.

So, what to do?

Obviously he couldn't hang around here. He didn't think that Tyki could have followed him back to Paris, but the fact that Jo knew who he was made staying around this area dangerous- if Jo turned out to be as vindictive as Kanda had suggested she might, then he better move on soon.

This was why he had never wanted to start a relationship. There was no way to continue with it now- he and Kanda would have to separate sooner rather than later. He had told Kanda the truth that morning- he truly had no regrets about the night they had spent together, but he wished that their time together had not come to an end so soon. There was no way that he could continue each day without thinking of Kanda and the night they had spent together. He let his head fall against the glass of the window and sighed, his breath condensing and obscuring the view.

'Quite the dilemma, Walker.'

Allen froze, clenching his fists at his sides and screwing his eyes closed. The Fourteenth had been suspiciously quiet since the incident with Tyki and Allen had hoped that he'd given up on trying to communicate with his host. So much for that idea. He stayed stubbornly silent, hoping that by doing so he could pretend that the Noah had not spoken to him at all.

'Ignoring me won't make me go away' the Fourteenth said smugly. 'And pretending that I don't exist will only make the conclusion of our partnership all the harder for you to accept.'

Allen said nothing, mentally cursing the Noah with every foul epithet that he knew, and a few that he only now realised that he had learned. The Noah seemed to understand what he was doing, and a low chuckle reverberated along the mental link.

'I will win this battle of wills, Allen Walker,' the voice assured him with a great degree of certainty. 'You are only mortal after all.'

"I'm not going to lose to you" Allen growled, forgetting his vow of silence.

The Noah laughed. 'You already have, you just don't know it yet.'

0o0o0o0

Kanda set the phone receiver down with deliberate gentleness, though what he really wanted to do was throw the whole contraption against the wall. He clenched his hand into a fist and took a deep claming breath. It was going to be hard enough to go back and face Allen without being angry.

The calming breath didn't help much, but he felt more prepared to go back to Allen's room and pass on the news.

He walked up the stairs with a heavy tread, taking the time to pull himself back into some semblance of normality. By the time he arrived back at Allen's door, he didn't feel much better, but at least he didn't look like his whole world was crashing down around him.

He opened and closed the door silently, looking around quickly to see where Allen had gone when he saw that the bed was empty. The younger man was standing by the window, shoulders hunched and tense and hands fisted at his sides, his forehead pressed against the window.

"I'm not going to lose to you" Allen said, his voice low and almost threatening. Kanda stalled for a moment, thinking that Allen was speaking to him, but then he realised who the defensive posture and menacing words were truly directed at and sighed. He had thought that the Noah had retreated for now- certainly there had been little indication that the sinister presence was still forcing his mind onto Allen's in the last few days.

"Moyashi."

Kanda's voice made Allen start with surprise and he spun around, looking guilty. "Kanda," he said, sounding relieved. He seemed to realise that Kanda had been in the room long enough to at least catch the end of his internal confrontation with the Noah and grimaced slightly, but turned the conversation to the phone call that Kanda had just returned from. "How did it go? What did Komui say?"

"Leverrier's being a bastard. I have to go back."

Allen smiled sadly with understanding. "Of course. I suspected that Komui would have to call you back soon. It's not like you can stay out here with me forever, is it? There's work to be done and missions to complete after all, the war won't win itself, will it? It won't be so bad, out here alone again. Just because Tyki knows what I look like doesn't mean its any more dangerous than usual and I-" Kanda's hand clamped across his mouth, stalling the rambling.

"I don't want to go back" the older man admitted quietly, shaking Allen's face a little.

Allen said something that was muffled by the hand over his mouth. When Kanda removed it he repeated "I know. But you have to. I'll be fine, really."

"Stop lying."

Allen just raised an eyebrow. "I will miss you, if that's what you're worried about" he said with a grin. Kanda smacked him.

"Don't try and get away with this, Moyashi. I heard you talking to that _thing_ earlier."

Allen waved the comment aside. "Oh don't worry about _that_. There's really no problem."

Kanda looked unimpressed, but let the comment slide. "So what are you going to do now? You can't stay here."

Allen looked around the sparsely furnished room a little wistfully. "I know."

"Where will you go?"

Allen shrugged a little half-heartedly. "I guess the safest thing to do would be to leave the country. I don't know how safe I am in France any more. I'll go to Germany perhaps, or Belgium."

Kanda pulled a face. The answer obviously was not to his liking, and Allen wondered whether he was thinking along the same lines- once they separated they may never see each other again.

Wordlessly, Allen reached out and took Kanda's hand in his own. "We knew this would happen eventually."

Kanda said nothing, but he didn't try and pull his hand free, inching a little closer so that their arms were touching.

"It's not like we'll _never_ see each other again," Allen said, not knowing what else he could say.

"Che" Kanda turned away so that Allen couldn't read his expression.

"When… when are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow. Komui wants me back within the week."

"So soon?" Allen asked, disappointed. "I didn't… never mind, it's nothing." He looked around the room again. "I suppose I better get packing then." He turned away, making for the bed under which he stored his spare clothes, only to be stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

"Wait" Kanda ordered.

"What? I need to get my things together."

A mouth covering his own was his only answer as Kanda pulled him close, guiding him the rest of the way towards the bed.

0o0o0o0o0

A couple of hours later Allen lay dozing on the bed, basking in a sliver of sunlight that had determinedly filtered through the grimy window, feeling more at peace than he had in a long while, even knowing that once he dragged himself out of bed he would be forced to think about his imminent departure and separation form Kanda.

The older man was spooned against his back, one arm slung lazily across Allen's waist, holding him in place, breathing deeply with his nose pressed into Allen's neck, blowing puffs of warm air across sweat-dampened skin.

Every now and then a small snore would issue from the nose buried under Allen's hair, though Kanda would surely deny any such thing.

Slowly, Allen blinked his eyes open, gazing up at the ceiling through gritty, sleep-hazed eyes, smiling when he heard the little nasal snort that Kanda blew into his ear as he shifted positions and tightened his grip on Allen's waist, pulling him closer.

Allen's grin widened as he rolled over, tucking his head against Kanda's shoulder and draping his own arm over his sleeping bedmate. He knew that he should really start thinking about getting up and finish packing- Kanda had to return to the Order within the week and he had no desire to spend anytime alone in this room once Kanda had left.

He sighed and gave Kanda a small squeeze, trying to wring as much contact out of their time together as he could, before releasing his grip and sliding silently out of the bed, hoping to get ready to go without disturbing Kanda's sleep.

"Moyashi?"

No such luck.

Allen turned with a brightly fake smile on his face. "Sorry Kanda, I didn't mean to wake you."

"What are you doing?" Kanda asked, propping himself up on one elbow and staring at Allen with slightly accusing eyes. He seemed oblivious to the fact that the bedsheet had slid from his torso to gather at his waist.

"Nothing" Allen said with a shrug, turning to gather his belongings and shove them in the rough leather duffel bag that he had replaced his suitcase with. "I just thought that I should think about getting going." He shrugged again. "After all, you've got to leave soon as well…"

Kanda scowled at him, his sleep-relaxed face pinching into a frown. It appeared that Kanda was as reluctant to think about separating as Allen was. With a sigh, Allen continued to pack his bag, knowing that whatever they said to each other, they couldn't change their circumstances and it was pointless to try and convince themselves that this was anything but goodbye. The likelihood of them ever seeing each other again were infinitesimal.

When he folded his last shirt and shoved it into his bad, he let his shoulders slump and bowed his head. He reached out and ran his hand over the black exorcist coat laying on the chair beside his bed, letting his fingers linger on the buttons and trailing over the stitching, before lifting it up and holding it out for Kanda to slip his arms into.

Kanda wordlessly stood, leaving the sheets behind as he approached, taking the coat from Allen's hands and studying it for a moment before he began to empty the pockets, throwing the contents of his coat onto the bed. Allen watched in confusion as Kanda lazily tossed the innocence cube alongside scraps of paper that could have once belonged to mission documents and a few coins that tinkled as they bounced.

His jaw dropped as Kanda held out the coat in the same manner as Allen had done for him. "An exorcist needs a coat" he said tonelessly, giving it a little impatient shake.

Allen shook his head. "I'm not an exorcist anymore, Kanda."

Kanda smirked a little. "Yes, you are."


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Kanda crossed his arms and his legs, managing to look unconcerned and relaxed in the presence of the prowling inspector and the members of the elite Crow that surrounded him. Behind him, Link was ostensibly making sure that Kanda stayed put and didn't make any sudden moves, but in reality he was making sure that the Crow didn't jump to conclusions and attempt to take Kanda into custody. He didn't think that _that_ confrontation would end well.

Leverrier paused in his pacing and glared at Kanda with beady black eyes. "Go over the event of that night once more" he ordered in a tone that brooked no argument- this was not a questioning, it was a full-scale interrogation.

Kanda raised an eyebrow at the inspector, not saying anything. He's already been though this twice that night and didn't really think that anything had changed between one telling and the next. However, he was supposed to be posing as the perfect soldier- the bureaucrats had had little to complain about from him before after all, and it would be beneficial to those in the Order if Kanda continued this charade. He took a calming breath, not looking up at the tall man stalking the room.

"I had been out training that morning in the grounds. It was around lunchtime when I decided to head inside, but was interrupted by the sound of the emergency alarm. I immediately changed direction and headed to my post, but was intercepted by Allen Walker" damn no matter how many times he went over this same story, it _still _felt strange to say Allen's name "who ran into me, literally, on one of the lower floor corridors, not far from what was the Ark room." Here he allowed some of the annoyance he had felt that night show through- after all, it was a well known fact that he and Allen didn't get on- he'd be forgiven, perhaps even expected, to feel something like anger towards the other exorcist.

"He told me that he was going to seal the Ark, as was his job when the alarm sounds, so I let him go. I did not see anything wrong with either my own actions, or his, at the time."

"And you did not notice that Inspector Link was not with him?" Leverrier sneered, in exactly the same way as he had done every other time that they had had this conversation.

"Of course" Kanda said, repeating his earlier response once more. "But I am merely an exorcist, and as such I am not privy to the orders of others. It was not my place to question the whereabouts of the inspector, and even if I had confronted Walker about it, surely sealing the Ark and stopping an attack would take precedence over waiting for him?"

"You're right, it isn't your place!" Leverrier snapped, ignoring Kanda's question entirely. Kanda smirked to himself. Leverrier was getting frustrated now, and soon he'd either give up his fruitless interrogation, or he'd reveal the true reason he had called Kanda to him.

Leverrier regarded him with gimlet eyes for a moment before making a small motion with his hand and the assembled Crow filed out silently. Link moved to stand in front of the door, arms folded and looking every part of a loyal guard. Kanda had trouble believing that this was the same man who had helped orchestrate and cover up Allen's escape.

Leverrier sat down on a chair that he had dragged across the room , put his elbows on his knees with his hands clasped between them and gave Kanda a frank look. "I like you, Kanda" he said.

The out of the blue statement threw the exorcist for a moment.

"You're my kind of exorcist" the man went on. "You're loyal to the Order as an organisation, not he people in it. You follow orders and you always get the job done. This war would be going a lot better if we had more exorcists like you." He leaned back in his chair, looking very satisfied. "Yes, I like you."

Kanda glanced at Link, who gave a tiny shrug behind Leverrier's back. Obviously the other man had no idea where this was headed either.

"There is something troubling that has recently been brought to my attention. I suspect that there may be more traitors hiding within Headquarters. You know as well as I do that Walker does not possess the intelligence to orchestrate this escape alone." He glanced over his shoulder at Link for a moment. "Howard here told Supervisor Lee about our plans to take Walker into custody. Perhaps that was a mistake," and Kanda saw the lines around Leverrier's eyes tighten for a moment. It seemed like the man was far from impressed with Link's actions, but Kanda would be very surprised if Leverrier suspected his most trusted toady. Men as arrogant as the Inspector rarely expected the people closest to them, their devoted followers, to stab them in the back. "But what is done is done. Walker is out there somewhere and the longer he is, there more likely it is that the Fourteenth Noah will become dominant and we will have a problem on our hands that could have easily been avoided."

Kanda's face remained blank, but his mind was having trouble wrapping around the word "dominant" and applying it to the Fourteenth, who of course was in Allen's body. It was a strange thought.

"So I have a mission for you" Leverrier continued, jerking Kanda out of his thoughts abruptly. He made a motion that the inspector should continue.

"I need to flush the traitors out of the Order," Leverrier told him bluntly. "And I need people I can trust to be on my side while I do it."

Kanda frowned slightly. "And you want me to do that?"

"No" Leverrier said with a small shake of his head. "Howard here will be taking on that responsibility. No, I have a far more important job in mind for you." He paused here, as though waiting for Kanda to say something else, but the Japanese exorcist remained typically silent, so with a small throat-clearing cough, Leverrier continued. "You are to take Allen Walker into custody."

Kanda stared at the older man in disbelief, though luckily the expression did not translate to his face. "You want me to do what?" he asked in a deceptively calm voice.

"Consider it a… promotion, if you will," Leverrier said with a snake-like smile. "You will have the freedom to travel wherever the search takes you, reporting only to me. No more mindless missions for you." He leaned forward conspiratorially. "I reward my loyal soldiers."

Kanda considered this carefully. He knew that he actually wasn't able to turn Leverrier down, but this was actually a fantastic opportunity. If the inspector trusted that Kanda was hunting Allen down, then he could keep Allen safer for longer.

"Very well" Kanda agreed, getting to his feet.

Leverrier handed him a document encased in a plain black folder with the words 'top secret' stamped in the corner in tiny writing. "I trust you can be discreet about what we have discussed here today. Dismissed." Leverrier turned away without another word and Kanda considered that he was free to go.

0o0o0o0o0

Allen sat down at the side of the road, wiping his sweat-slicked forehead on his ragged sleeve. It had been a week since he and Kanda parted ways on the outskirts of Paris, and it had turned into one of the hardest weeks of Allen's life.

Timcampy fluttered anxiously around his head, attempting to take up a perch in his hair as per usual, but he waved the golem off, annoyed that even this little machine was fretting over his well-being.

'That's because, unlike you, everyone else had accepted the inevitable' the Fourteenth informed him. Ever since Allen left Paris, the Noah in his head had become much more verbose, sliding snide little comments into the conversation (albeit a one-sided conversation) as often as he could.

Allen's ability to ignore him was reducing every time it happened.

With a sigh he stopped flapping his hands at the golem, allowing Tim to settle in his hair, which was still brown and untidy, though considerably shorter than it had been before when he had first donned the disguise. He had stopped putting in the drops to colour his eyes the night he had left Paris.

Tim patted his head in a way that the little machine probably thought was comforting but Allen found rather patronising.

"Stop it, Tim" he whined, nudging the golem with his fingertips. Tim immediately took up a mouthful of Allen's hair and began to munch on it. Allen sighed in defeat.

The sun hung low in the sky, the day drawing to a close, but he was still in the middle of nowhere. It looked like another night roughing it.

Pulling a misshapen lumpy piece of knitted wool from his bag, he jammed the hat onto his head, unseating the golem in the process, before pulling another shirt on over the one he was already wearing. The days might still be warm, but summer was nearly at an end and the nights were frigid.

He briefly considered donning the exorcist coat that Kanda had gifted him with, but decided against it. He'd not put it on since the first time that Kanda had insisted on him having it, though he had often pulled it from his nag to run his hands over it, breathing in the last vestiges of Kanda's scent that barely clung to the fabric.

This time he folded it up reverently and lay back with his head pillowed against it. The thought of what Kanda would say if he saw him once again using the coat as a pillow made his smile faintly.

With the vegetation at the side of the road providing cover, Allen closed his eyes despite the fact that the sun had not fully set yet.

The golden golem settled beside him, taking a lick of hair into its mouth as its master fell asleep. Timcampy stayed awake watching over Allen, not moving even when the fingers of his right hand began moving jerkily, and continued to do so all night.

0o0o0o0o0

Komui was waiting for Kanda outside the room. Leverrier had been using to question him in. As soon as the exorcist emerged through the doors, the supervisor grabbed his arm and dragged him down a narrow corridor, hoping to get away before they attracted Leverrier's attention. He stuck his head round the corner cautiously: it looked like they'd avoided detection.

It wasn't until he felt cold steel against his bare throat that he realised that dragging the Order's residential homicidal exorcist down into the bowels of headquarters without warning wasa stupid thing to do.

"Explain" Kanda growled at him, not removing Mugen from his neck.

"Kanda, Kanda, Kanda, put your sword away" Komui said, pretending he wasn't shaking all the way down to his slippered toes. "You know we can't be seen together without levrier getting suspicious, and I know my office is bugged. This was the safest way to get you alone – if we were seen, all anyone can say is I forced you to come along with me.!

"Hn" Kanda removed his sword, sheathing it and glaring expectantly at the Supervisor, who it turned out was less of an idiot than previously reckoned who knew? "Well?"

Komui began pacing the small space between them, wringing his hands in agitation.

"What did he want from you Kanda?" he asked "How deep are we in it here?"

To the Chinese man's surprise, the exorcist smirked. "You" and he pointed at Komui just in case the Supervisor was confused to whom he was referring. "are fucked."

Komui gaped at Kanda's apparently amused tone.

"Leverrier knows it was you. He doesn't suspect anyone else, except Link is in the shit for telling you."

Komui gulped but nodded. "That was what we hoped would happen."

"You always meant to be the one under suspicion? Bet Moyashi loved that." Kanda scoffed.

"It was the only way to get him out safely" Komui countered "We've all had to make sacrifices, Allen more than any of us."  
Kanda couldn't not agree with that, so stayed silent.

"So what did dear Malcolm want from you?" Komui asked again.

"To promote me" Kanda said with customary bluntness.

Komui stumbled as he turned to pace back across the corridor. "Pardon?"

"Honourary promotion, General status" Kanda smrked, looking entirely too pleased with himself. "I get to travel the world as I see fit in order to track down Allen Walker, who is wanted on charges of heresy."

Komui stared at Kanda for over a minute before actually jumping up and down and clapping his hands like an excited school girl. "This is perfect!" he squealed "Wonderful wonderful! By putting you in charge of looking for Allen, Leverrier has handed us the perfect weapon!"

Kanda took a half step back just in case the Supervisor tried to hug him.

"Of course, as a general you'll need a new coat... by the way, what happened to your other one? Don't tell me, you let Allen have it, didn't you? You're far too sentimental for your own good, though why you'd..." here Komui paused turning wide eyed onto Kanda who was now five paces down the corridor, sword in hand. "You let Allen have it!" Komui squeaked, leaving an accusatory finger at the exorcist. "You deflowered our little Allen!"

Kanda gave an awkward shuffle, glaring at the supervisor, whose eyes widened further, if possible and he waved a fist in the air, satisfied they were completely alone before shouting, rather loudly "Curse you Allen! You deflowered our Kanda!" and he gave said exorcist a crooked grin.

Kanda made those five steps disappear as he chased the supervisor through the corridors.

0o0o0o0o0

When Tyki returned to the hotel room he was armed with a massive bouquet of flowers, and a cat.

Jo gushed over the flowers, admiring the species and colours, but when she tried to pet the cat, it gave her an astoundingly frosty look and stalked away, situating itself on her bed and alternating between glaring at her with cold yellow eyes and cleaning itself with long leisurely licks.

Jo proceeded to ignore the cat, more interested in the man who had just removed his hat and gloves and was draping his dinner jacket artfully over the chaise-lounge by the window.

"Josephine, my dear girl. How are you this evening?" he asked, bowing over hand and gently kissing her knuckles.

She curtsied in return "I am well, thank you. And thank you for the flowers, they are lovely." She didn't mention the cat.

"Nothing but the best for my favourite lady" Tyki said graciously. Over on the bed, Lulubell paused in her wash and hissed "I do no think that being treated properly is something they are used to."

Jo touched a petal with the tip of one finger. "Well, not really, although Allen once –" She stopped suddenly with a gasp, darting frightened hazel eyes to the man watching her from the other side of the room. Tyki smiled gently and crossed the intervening space, taking her street roughened hands in his own tanned smooth ones and capturing her averted gaze with ernest eyes. "Don't shut out those memories. Obviously your time with those men is a big part of your life – it will do you no harm to remember it, as long as you also remember the truth."  
Jo nodded, reassured. At first Tyki's reaction whenever she mentioned the exorcists made her believe she should refrain from doing so – he always seemed...well, angry wasn'nt the right word, though there was definitely an element of anger in there – it was more – excited, hungry. Like he wanted to know everything she did about them and was just barely holding back from shaking her silly and demanding answers.

She realised that this reaction was due to the fervour with which Tyki held his mission. Obviously trying to rid the world of evil was important to him, so it was understandable that he would be eager for any news that would prove aventageous to his cause. But he hadn't pushed her, even though it was clear he wanted to, and for that reason she thought it only fair that she talk to him about her time with the exorcists.

"Well, I've pretended to be a boy for so long now, being treated like this is hard to get used to" she gave herself a small self-depreciating smile. "But the...exorcists never treated me badly, even when Allen still thought I was a boy. Though..." she trailed off thoughtfully, then shrugged. "I guess he liked me better as a boy."

Tyki tried not to smirk at that. "And the other exorcist? How did he treat you?"

"He was horrible!" Jo exploded, waving her arms overexcitedly and stomping her foot in a very unladylike manner. "He treated me like dirt, even when he found out I was a girl!" She exclaimed, now pacing the room, too wound up to sit still. "And he watched me all the time! Whenever I got close to Allen, he'd be there, staring at me!" She stopped pacing anf crossed her arms, her eyes narrowed. "If he'd never turned up, then Allen would never have..." She shuddered "This is all that damn exorcists fault – he took Allen away from me!"

Tyki hid his smirk – the girl was so damn bitter, it was beautiful. "Do not worry my child, soon we will make the exorcists pay."

She looked up at him, hazel eyes wide and sparkling. "Really? I can help you?" The thought of becoming involved in the hidden war excited her, it would give her empty life a sense of purpose. For too long now she had been merely existing, going from day to day without meaning. If she could help rif the world of the exorcist menace, then she would have something to live for.

"of course you will help!" Tyki said, as though it was a simple statement of fact. "I will need your help" he added earnestly. Jo beamed, turning once more to the flowers to hide her embarrassment.

On the bed, the cat began to purr.

* * *

Reviews are food for the soul!


	4. Chapter 3

Well here we are, better late than never. I'm having some real trouble with these early chapters- they're slow and boring but a necessity, I'm afraid. Only one or two more of these and then the real fun starts. I can't wait!

You know, since I started my new job working on urological cancer cases, I'll never look at slash sex the same way again. The prostate is a fascinating piece of anatomy!

One little, tiny, itty-bitty thing to say though. You won't realise how much I love getting the notifications that this story has been favourited or it or I have been put on alert, but please, PLEASE, if you can, take the time to leave quick review. As I said, I'm struggling with this fic and a small show of support would go a long way to helping me. I've had less of a response to this fic than any other multi-chap one I have written. I don't know if it's because this fandom is dying, but I find myself struggling to get the inspiration I need and have been seduced into other fandoms.

If you have any ideas don't hesitate to let me know- the basic plot is there, but most of it is pretty fluid an I'd be definitely up for some more input!

And now I've had my rant, on with the fic!

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Chapter Three

It was cold, Allen knew that much. Not that he particularly cared. It was just a consequence of his environment- there was nothing that he could do to improve his situation, so why should he worry about it?

He wasn't worried about a lot any more, actually.

His grey eyes were fixed on a distant point on the horizon, blank and unseeing as the snow-laden clouds rolled in over the Bernese Alps. He was currently crouched in a small cave halfway up the Finsteraarhorn, not that he knew this, tucked away behind an overhang in the rock face that sheltered him from the worst of the weather that was trying to worm its way into the crevice, pushing icy frozen rain and dry, chafing wind into his tiny shelter. He shivered absently, an automatic reaction to the freezing conditions rather than a conscious effort to keep warm.

Where had the summer gone? One day he had been enjoying the last of the dying sun, warm days and cool nights and gentle refreshing breezes, and the next, winter had struck and the days were grey and gloomy- oftentimes it was like the sun had not risen at all. There had been no autumn it seemed, just the tail end of August running into frigid November.

Allen suddenly started upright, the arms that had been clenched around his knees pulling them to his chest abruptly sprung apart and tensed at his sides. He wasn't sure what had startled him from his stupor, and looked around wildly, looking for the source of his surprise.

The small golden golem that had settled on his head fluttered back into the air, conscious that its cold metal body had unexpectedly chilled its master, disturbing him from his half-aware state.

Allen seemed to realize this at the same time and slumped suddenly, like a puppet with cut strings, unable to hold his own weight. "Tim…" he said wearily. It was probably meant to sound like a warning, but sounded more like a tired sigh. The golem fluttered apologetically around him, a small golden satellite, before settling back on Allen's head, nestling amongst the white roots that were growing through. Somehow keeping up the disguise didn't seem to matter anymore. In fact, sometimes Allen had trouble recalling why he was in disguise at all.

He did remember some things, of course he did. He remembered Master Cross and the Black Order, he remembered Mana, he remembered Lavi and Lenalee, Komui, Reever and the scientists. He sniffed and shivered again, drawing his knees back to his chest and heaving a great sigh. He remembered Kanda.

He allowed his mind to wander for a while, thinking about the long-haired Exorcist, absently dragging the now slightly tattered black and silver coat closer to him and inhaling deeply as though he would be able to smell the scent of the coat's original owner on the material still. He couldn't, but it was nice to pretend.

Other things though, he was struggling to recall. He couldn't remember why candles reminded him of pain and suffering, he couldn't remember the name of the police officer he had met on the way to the Order for the very first time. He couldn't remember why he was currently huddled in a freezing cave in Switzerland. And he knew he should remember, he knew that, dammit! Frustrated he pounded his left fist onto the chilled granite, cracking the rock with the force of his innocence hand. He could still remember that at least. He remembered the night he had turned Mana into an Akuma and received the curse in return vividly. He very much doubted that whatever was happening to him would ever be able to remove the memory of his unrefined, animalistic innocence clawing the skeletal-framed body of his adoptive father, nor the memory of that metallic finger tearing across his face, narrowly avoiding blinding him.

He also knew, though didn't understand why, that he had to remember his innocence, had to.

If he forgot what it was, what made him different, what protected him, then… well, he wasn't sure what, but he knew that something bad would happen.

He idly considered that the memory loss should have affected him more than it was. He should definitely feel more worried about the memories of his life disappearing than he was, but the apathy that had threatened to overtake him as he watched Kanda walk away in the opposite direction when they parted ways on the outskirts of Paris was taking a stronger hold day after day. He couldn't find it in himself to care all that much anymore. Vaguely, the idea that he had come here, to the most remote area of these mountains, to escape people, to avoid attracting Akuma into populated areas and thus protecting the townspeople that would otherwise have been caught in the cross-fire came to mind, but he waved it off as unimportant. It didn't matter, in the end, the reason that he was here. He just was, that was all there was to it.

_It had been frigidly cold. So cold that he was having trouble concentrating on even putting one foot in front of the other. He had no clue where he was, where he was going. He was staring to forget where he'd been._

_He dragged his feet, stumbling and almost falling over a rock half-buried in the snow. He heard smothered laughter and looked up to see a young boy, perhaps five or six sniggering at him for his near-fall, and his older sister berating her sibling for laughing at the strange man walking down the street. A couple of villagers were also standing around, watching him curiously. He probably looked a fright, but he couldn't find it in himself to care. He was just so tired…_

_The Akuma had jumped out of nowhere. He hadn't been expecting an attack and his eye hadn't reacted ever since he left Paris. It was slow to react now, whirring into action with painful sluggishness and a low grinding noise that told him just how weak he was._

_His left arm twitched... once, twice, before finally activating, jarring his entire body as he stumbled forward, only just catching himself before he fell to his face in the snow. He couldn't fight here, he realised, catching the terrified eyes of the two young siblings standing outside their house. There were too many people around- too many people to get in the way. Too many people who would die if he failed._

_The Akuma was everywhere, moving faster than his eyes could follow and running circles around him while he stood helplessly by, watching, waiting for an opening._

_Kanda's coat, long, tattered and scuffed flared around him as he spun, trying to keep the demon in sight. The coat was supposed to attract the Akuma's attention- that was the purpose of the exorcist uniform, to make them stand out, to draw the Akuma's attention- he remembered that lesson from his master at least. It didn't seem to be working- the Akuma had worked itself into such a frenzy that it was taking pot-shots at anything that moved, apart from Allen it seemed. Perhaps it was stupid, perhaps it thought that if it pretended that the man in the exorcist coat wasn't there, then it couldn't be attacked. Perhaps it simply didn't see Allen._

_Either way, Allen was ignored by the demon in favour of terrorizing the small settlement._

_A well-built man in his fifties ran over to Allen and clutched his arm. He appeared to recognise the emblem on the coat that Allen wore, and began gesticulating wildly, pointing at the Rose Cross and then at the Akuma, clearly expecting Allen to do something. _

_Allen shook his head, not understanding the garbled German tumbling from the man's mouth._

_The man growled and yanked Allen's arm sharply dragging him forward before turning and wagging his finger in Allen's face, pointing once more at the Rose Cross and sneering, obviously unimpressed by Allen's lack of action._

_Allen pushed the man aside as the Akuma dived at them both. The man fell to the floor, avoiding the Akuma as it flew over his head, but it didn't stop when it missed its target and ploughed into Allen with the force of a train. Pushed back, Allen dug in his heels and threw all of his meagre weight into his arms which he had raised at the last minute to shield his body. The Akuma was pressed against the innocence arm; its ugly face inches away from Allen's own._

"_Exorcist…" it hissed, spittle flying form its mouth. As the liquid landed on his face, Allen realised that it was virus-laced, black pentacles exploding wherever they touched. It paused, confused, studying Allen closely. "Master Noah?"_

"_Errr…" Allen started, a little confused himself. He wasn't a Noah. Something pounded at the door to the memories that had been locked away, begging to be acknowledged. Noah were… evil, the enemy. _Why was he hesitating?

_The Akuma stopped pushing against Allen and looked down at the black arm and wicked silver claws, following the white cloak across his shoulders before giving the exorcist coat a once over, its gaze finally landing on Allen's face. It sneered foully, its already twisted humanoid face deforming further. "Innocence? Exorcist…" it said, more confidently this time, pulling back suddenly and making Allen stumble. As he fought to regain his balance, the Akuma moved, swinging a long, unnatural arm into Allen's chest and sending him flying across the street and into the front of one of the houses. _

_All around people began screaming and running as the Akuma resumed its rampage. Allen pushed a beam from over his head just in time to see the siblings that he had spotted laughing at him earlier explode into a flurry of ashes._

_The Akuma spun in a circle, laughing all the while._

_It was the last thing Allen saw before the rest of the building collapsed onto him, burying him in the rubble._

_When he awoke sometime later, he had been dragged from the remains of the building and abandoned at the roadside. He supposed that he should be grateful that they had bothered to get him out of the rubble at all. _

_None of his injuries had been treated, and as he sat up he felt a rather uncomfortable ache which originated from somewhere in the vicinity of his recently healed shoulder and another that warned him that trying to stand would be a bad idea. Unfortunately he had little choice. As soon as they became aware that he was conscious once more, the villagers who had been working near by gathered around him. the expressions on their dirt-smeared faces were decidedly unfriendly._

_They closed in around him, blocking his view of the destroyed settlement and trapping him in a circle of solid human flesh._

"_Who do you think you are!" a man blustered at him in broken English, switching to French in case he could get his point across any better. "You've done nothing to help us! Isn't that your job, exorcist?"_

_Allen hung his head. "I'm sorry, there was nothing else I could have done."_

"_My children, you killed my children!" a woman screamed, trying to fight her way through the crowd to get at Allen. "This is all your fault! That thing didn't turn up until you came! You're the monster here!" she sobbed, turning limp and collapsing brokenly in the arms of the men holding her back._

"_Get out of our town, we have no need for your kind here, coward!"_

"_Coward? Don't you mean demon? Look at him- he's obviously in league with that monster!"_

"_Leave, and don't come back, devil-child!"_

_Someone picked up a rock and threw it, narrowly missing Allen's head. It landed with a dull thud beside him, rolling and coming to a rest against his hand._

"_Monster!"_

"_Demon!"_

"_Devil-spawn!"_

"_Freak!_

_Allen didn't stay to hear any more._

0o0o0o0o0

Tyki grumbled silently to himself, not letting the girl standing next to him hear it. It wouldn't do for his little toy to realize what a precarious position she held. He was rapidly growing bored of her presence. While her slim, androgynous form was attractive, in its own way, it did not hold that spark for him, did not grip him with the first throes of passion or ignite his senses, did not make him feel like he had when he had held the dark-haired, dark-eyed version of one Allen Walker, did not thrill him the way that holding Allen Walker's still beating heart in his hand had, the way that the fire in those eyes had made his pulse race, the way that the boy's mouth had snarled obscenities at him, spewed hatred and turned him on more than anything he had ever encountered in his life.

The hatred that he saw on the pale exorcists face even while he tried to save an enemy… he shifted discretely, glancing to the side to see if Jo had spotted the effect his thoughts were having on his body.

She didn't appear to have noticed anything. Big surprise there.

He looked her up and down subtly. When he'd taken her in, he thought to use her in any way he could, disposing of her once she'd outlived her usefulness, but he was coming to realise that the girl was far less use to him than he'd previously expected. In fact, she had almost no beneficial information at all. He'd met some extremely obtuse people in his time, but this girl was top of the leader board in that sense. Sometimes he had the impression that she was being deliberately imperceptive, seeing only what she wanted to see- surely nobody could have survived on the streets for as long as she had and be _that_ dull-witted, and yet other times she said or did something so monumentally _stupid_ that he was left doubting whether the girl was in possession of a brain at all.

It appeared that the exorcists had been keeping her out of the loop, and the fact that apart from 'hello', 'yes', 'goodbye' and 'no', she only possessed about five words of English, none of which were particularly savoury, meant that she hadn't even been able to eavesdrop on their conversations. All Tyki could glean from her regarding the two men was that the one called Kanda was apparently a massive jerk and that he and Allen were engaged in a physical relationship that she found offensive and now, given permission to bitch as much as she wanted to at the Noah, she made the fact that the homosexual relationship between the two exorcists sickened her blatantly obvious. Tyki generally just tuned her out when she started ranting.

But now he was left with a problem. What was he supposed to do with her now?

When he had first had the idea of using the French girl to gain information about the exorcists, he had intended to hand the girl over to Rhode to play with. Now he wasn't sure if that was a good idea. Either Rhode would warp the girl's dreams and have her fun with the teen before killing her brutally, or (and here he shuddered), they would team up, united by their fascination with Allen and therefore hatred of Kanda and scheme to t5ake over the world. He snorted with amusement. If they were going to start a "we love Allen" fan club, he'd most likely be the third member. Which lead him back to his original dilemma. How to dispose of the brat?

Beside him, the cat-formed Lulubell meowed, arching her back against his ankles in a parody of a housecat. He raised his eyebrow at her.

She gave him a significant look and bounded off into a nearby alley.

Curiosity piqued, he drew to a stop, jerking the girl with her arm looped through his elbow to a stop also.

"TYki? What's the matter?"

"I thought I saw something…" he murmured, heading towards the alleyway and dragging the human with him.

Jo tried to hang back a little. Usually disappearing into dark, dirty alleys wouldn't have been a problem, but her dress was long and dragged along the floor, so if she could avoid going near a puddle she would.

"Come now," Tyki said, turning to her with a smirk "surely a little alley like this doesn't worry you?"

She threw her chin into the air and huffed. "Of course not!" she denied, dragging her arm from his grip and marching forward. "Nothing worries me!" she declared over her shoulder as she lead the way into the alley. Tyki didn't bother following her, he merely waited outside until the now human Lulubell emerged from the shadows.

She gave him a small smile and wiped her bottom lips with her thumb suggestively. "I thought you were in a hurry?" she asked.

Tyki tried to see around her, peering over her shoulder into the alley. "What did you do with her?"

"Never mind" the other Noah snapped. "Isn't there an exorcist that you have to capture? Something about the Earl wanting to question him about his ability to call the Ark?"

Now it was Tyki's turn to huff, annoyed. "I'm perfectly aware of my task, Lulubell. I merely wanted to know if you'd done a satisfactory job of disposing of the brat."

The woman gave him a cold look, but didn't reply. Instead, quick as a flash, she returned to her cat-form, neatly slashing a set of parallel cuts in the hem of his perfectly pressed trousers as she bounded away.

Tyki shook his head, looking mournfully down at the new air-holes in his second-favourite pair of trousers. "Damn cat-woman" he growled before pitching his jacket over one shoulder and striding away.


	5. Chapter 4

Shadow of a Fallen Angel- I'm glad you're enjoying the series so far – at least I'm doing something right! And really, what else could I do but get rid of Jo? She completely took over the story and didn't do what she was created to do. Bye bye Jo King.

Marufu – chan- Ah, what kind of author would I be if I reunited our lovebirds soon? Angst all the way!

Dakenolebeau-I can't tell you what Lulubell did to Jo, you'll have to use your imagination!

Birgitte LP- I'm so glad you're enjoying the Fics. I'll try to keep updates on a schedule, but RL continues to work against me.

Kuro. NekoRyn-No! Not AllenxLenalee! I understand people not reviewing, I'm guilty of it too on occasion. Thanks for your comments, it did make me feel better reading your review. And hoping that nothing bad will happen to Allen? Lol, that's like hoping that the chocolate bar I planted in the garden will grow into a chocolate tree. Um... or something like that.

Eternal-Dark-Eyes-The boring will pass *SOB* I was boring you? *goes to cry in corner* I'm happy that you like Decline, and I hope that Credence will live up tp your expectations.

Marmalah- To be honest, I don't know why Allen is losing his memory- you thought I was actually planning this fic? Lol! Jo was a pain, but she served her purpose. Well, she didn't, and thats why she's gone, but who cares, really? The fun starts in this chapter, thought the Yullen, not so much.

Lulubeck- Hehe, I can't wait either! I honestly only have the vaguest of motions of what'll happen. In fact, I know more of the ins and outs of Part 3 than this one!

Karina001- Nasty exit? Was it nasty? Was it an exit? Don't worry, I won't give up!

Wishfull- Unfortunately around 2500-3000 words is my chapter average. With my writing style and lack of time, I have difficulty pushing the length further. I'll try my best to extend them, but no promises! I'm glad you like it though.

KitsuneNaru-She's gone now, are you happy?

TimeGoesBackwards-I'm sorry for taking so long to reply, I'm totally lame. I'm glad you like it so far. Hopefully it will get better from here out!

Elven Magi-I'm glad you like the story! I do try!

* * *

Well, better late than never, I suppose. Thanks to the reviewers, the people who favourite, and of course, Bexi-face, my wonderful sister-cum-beta who did all the hard work.

_

* * *

The room was dim, lit with a few pillar candles, scattered about the room and melted to stubs, dried wax clinging to whichever surface they rested upon. They had obviously been left unattended for some time._

_In the centre of the room, tall, solid and imposing, a four-poster bed, draped in decadent black silk took up most of the available floor space. Black Sheer curtains hung from the canopy, a poor means of achieving privacy even when drawn. The beds occupants were still save for the small motion of a broad tanned hand stroking back and forth along the pale arm of the second occupant of the bed._

"_Mmmmmm... tickles" came the sleep- softened complaint, the pale arm twitching slightly, though not moving away from the gentle touch of the fingers. The hand stilled closing around the arm instead._

"_I didn't tell you that you could stop" the voice muttered. Moments later the covers heaved as the body the voice belonged to rolled over to face his companion. Warm dark eyes met pale green ones and the mouth quirked into a small smile. "And you know how I feel about you disobeying me." The pale hand brushed the dark curls away from the tanned forehead before placing a kiss on the exposed skin. "Especially in the bedroom."_

_The tanned man laughed, his voice as warm as his eyes. "Who am I to refuse your order?" he chuckled._

_They settled back down, facing each other while the tanned hands resumed the gentle petting._

_The green- eyed man sighed in contentment, resting against the pillows with his eyes half open. _

"_I love you" the taller man whispered, ghosting his fingertips over the others face. Green eyes closed as an expression of pure peace settled on his features._

"_And I you, Tyki" he replied, kissing the fingertips that lingered over his slightly parted lips. "More than you can imagine."_

_Tyki sat up slightly, propping himself on his elbow as he leant over the smaller man, capturing his mouth in a languid kiss. He pulled back, watching as a look he couldn't quite decipher settled into his lovers eyes._

"_What's the matter?" he asked, brushing the wavy dark hair back off his companion's forehead._

"_I hate this" he was informed, an ugly expression crossing the other's face "Why must we hide?"_

"_Because" Tyki replied patiently, with an air of having had this conversation many times before, "The Earl wants you. And what he can't have, no one else can."_

"_I hate that man!" the smaller of the pair spat vehemently, sitting up. "He disgusts me!" he shuddered "I don't know what he wants from me."_

"_You are the Fourteenth Noah" Tyki chided gently. "The Musician, The Creator, you are limitless in your power and unsurpassed in your beauty. Is it so hard to see why he covets you?"_

_The Fourteenth could not be calmed with gentle words however, and leapt from the bed, unmindful of his state of dress._

_If it weren't for the fact that his lover was pacing frantically across the room in obvious distress, Tyki would have appreciated the view more._

"_I do not know how much longer I will be able to refuse him" the Fourteenth confessed, ruffling his wavy hair in agitation. "I have already done so, again and again. I do not think the Earl will continue to take no for an answer." He turned tortured eyes on his partner. "I do not think I will return from today's meeting unscathed."_

_Tyki surged from the bed in one fluid motion, gathering the other man in his arms as if to shield him from the world. There was nothing weak or effeminate about the shorter man, but right then Tyki wished that his lover didn't feel the need to be strong all the time – it was obvious that he was terrified but didn't want to show it._

"_I worry that he might kill you if you refuse him again" Tyki admitted._

"_Death would be preferable" the muffled voice of the Fourteenth said, though it was half-hearted. Whatever he might say, he did not have a death wish. _

"_Would it be that terrible?" Tyki asked, though he wished he'd phrased it differently when those pale eyes burned into his own. "I meant" he said humidly "that the Earl is not truly horrible to look at in his true form..." he sighed with his a shake of his head. "I'm not saying this right."_

_To his surprise the other man smiled. "No, I understand. My true worry is what he will do to me, here" and he tapped his temple with a pale finger. He heaved a great sigh. "The Earl awaits. Help me dress?" Though it wasn't really a question, and it didn't require an answer– dressing his lover gave Tyki almost as much pleasure as undressing him. _

_Tyki watched with worried eyes as his lover straightened his tie and ran his fingers through his hair while his skin bled to grey and the yellow in his pale greenish eyes turned to liquid gold. With a chaste kiss they parted and Tyki could only watch as his lover walked away to meet with another man. The Fourteenth paused on the threshold, looking back over his shoulder, pulling a grim smile onto his face with visible effort. "Goodbye Tyki" he whispered before closing the door behind him with a sharp snap._

_Tyki used the opportunity now he was alone to allow the tears he had been holding back time to escape. He knew that the Fourteenth that came back would not be the same man that had just left. _

"_Goodbye Neah."_

Tyki brushed the memories away like an irritatingly persistent fly. It would do him no good to dwell on those thoughts now.

He idly flicked the end of his cigarette into the air, watching the ash disintegrate on the wind. Using the Earl's Black Ark he had transported himself back to the alleyway that he had first found Jo in.

After hearing something about a poker genius who had frequented the pubs there and simply disappeared after starting a fight in a bar, he was more than certain that he'd find some trace of Allen Walker here. The story had brought back memories of a card game and a train ride when he had been bested by a short white haired child. Of course, the thought of that journey, after which he'd carelessly tossed his adversary a deck of cards lead to another memory, when he had scattered those very cards over the beaten, broken body of the same exorcist- child who had stripped him to his underwear in a game of poker.

He clenched his fist discreetly in its pristine white glove. If he gave that memory too much thought, he fancied that he could still feel the fast, frantic, frightened beat of Allen Walkers heart in his palm.

He inhaled again, the smoke curling in his lungs before he blew it out forcefully and ground the cigarette out beneath his heel. The story of the poker genius had certainly sounded promising – the boys description (what he could ascertain from the barely sober ment hat had been present,) matched that of Allen Walker when he had met him again in Beauvais. Later there was even mention of a companion thought those alternated between a small dark haired boy (and the man who recounted this had quivered at the memory) a tall, foreign man armed with a sword with which he had apparently threatened the Frenchman whom Tyki had questioned. Well, that certainly answered the question of whether this person was Allen or not – the boy was undoubtedly little Josephine, and the man could be none other than the Japanese exorcist that he had seen with Allen in Beauvais. So, where to next?

He had heard rumours from one of his contacts in Calais that the exorcist had left France, and he had been alone as far as anyone could tell, so if kitchen- knife had left Allen behind, where had the little exorcist gone?

Luckily with the Earl's Ark, distance was no issue – if necessary he'd hop along the borders of the country until he found some trace of where Allen had gone, but he didn't really want to be wasting time trawling across Europe on a wild- goose chase.

So, if he was a disgraced former exorcist with nowhere to go, where would he go? His first thought was that he'd go to the places he knew best. Unfortunately for the Noah, he didn't know what places Allen knew the best. He knew that the boy spoke French, that much he had learned from Jo at least, so it made sense that the boy would either stay in France or go to another French speaking country.

Well, that narrowed the search somewhat. He frowned, mentally running over the list of possible destinations – France, obviously, though he doubted Walker would stay in the country, Belgium, Switzerland, Andorra, Luxembourg and Monaco. He immediately rejected Monaco, almost laughing out loud at the thought of albino Allen Walker on the coast of the Mediterranean. Plus it was too close to being in France.

He casually flicked his hair off his face forehead and slid his hands into his pockets. He had forgone his jacket and coat today, not paying attention to the strange looks he was getting. It was getting cold enough that being in ones shirt sleeves was unusual.

The air was crisp and autumnal against his skin and whenever the chilled wind picked up it lifted his hair, ruffling it further.

The disturbing memories of his past hung around him like a fog, making him desperate to locate Allen Walker, the vessel containing his lover. The longer he waited, the harder it became to hold himself back from tearing Europe apart.

There was only one thing for it, he decided it was time to call out the big guns. 'Akuma' he sent out to all of the trapped souls that he controlled. 'I have a very important job for you...'

0o0o0

Kanda scowled. He had decided approximately 7 minutes ago, that he hated the sea. He had been staring blankly at the horizon for a God-forsaken fortnight, and had now reached the conclusion that there was nothing as inane and ridiculous as travelling by boat.

He had started his journey back in France at some stupid little village that he'd never even heard of. Apparently Leverrier had got hold of Crowley and Marie's stupid report of their last mission in France and found the mention of some stupid French kid worthy of investigation. The fact that that this French kid was actually Allen was irrelevant – it was still stupid. Stupid was word of the day.

He had realised by the time that he had reached the tiny village in the middle of nowhere that he was being followed by Leverrier's crow and was infinitely pleased that he'd followed his orders. They were probably there as 'back up' but Kanda knew that they were also there to keep an eye on him, making sure that he kept following his orders. That meant that his time in the village had to be spent as though he was honestly searching for Allen. The brief description in Marie and Crowley's report was vague but detailed enough to question the locals about his whereabouts. Not that it had been easy, his time with Allen in Paris had taught him a small amount of French, but not enough to carry a conversation about the location of a pretty non- descript boy who may or may not have lived here some time ago.

He muddled through, using the locals smattering of English and violent gestures to get his message across. He had the distinct impression that the crow were laughing at him but since he was not supposed to know they were there could do nothing about it.

He had read the report before he came here, and knew that Paris was never mentioned, so hopefully Leverrier had no clue where Allen had gone next.

And now that Kanda knew of his tail, he realised he could hardly follow hi original plan and follow Allen, as that would lead Leverriers crows straight to their target, so instead he did the only thing he could. He buried his memories of Allen deep and headed in the other direction. Catching the first America bound passenger ship that he found.

He wanted nothing more than to catch up with Allen, after all, how could an exorcist in hiding survive when their innocence was a magnet for Akuma. Add to the fact that Allen attracted trouble like brothels attracted Cross, and he felt sure that the Moyashi was doomed.

But this was all he could do to help him. He just hoped it would be enough.


	6. Chapter 5

Here we are. I bet you all thought that I'd forgotten about you, didn't you? Well, real life sucks balls and I've been struggling to find time to write lately, but its better late than never, right? No? Oh well, I can but try. But since today is my birthday, I thought I'd treat myself by updating. Unfortunately my hotmail account is being a bitch also, I haven't got around to replying to all the reviews, for which I am very sorry, and i hope you can forgive me.

Did I mention it's my birthday today?

* * *

_Neah knocked warily on the door to the Millennium Earl's private chambers. He knew he was expected, but not showing the Earl the proper respect could prove disastrous.  
As he retracted his fist he noticed that his hands were shaking and scowled in annoyance. He should not be afraid of this man!  
Not only was it a matter of pride, but the Earl would not hesitate to take advantage of any weakness.  
A deceptively jovial sounding command to enter interrupted Neah's attempts to stop the fine trembling of his limbs. He took a deep steadying breath and smoothed out his frown, releasing the breath slowly as he pushed his way into the Earl's suite.  
The room was dimly lit, and if was anyone else, Neah would have said it was to create an intimate atmosphere, however, as this was the Earl, there was bound to be a sinister ulterior motive.  
He couldn't see much in the dim interior, but he didn't need to see to know where the Earl was.  
A fire raged in the grate on the far side of the huge sitting room, a winged armchair silhouetted against the flickering light.  
He approached the chair, head held defiantly high. He knew that this was what the Earl wanted- he wanted a fighter, a challenge, but when the alternative was rolling over and passively giving himself to the other man, there was no alternate course of action.  
He studied the man in the chair, who did not look up, or otherwise acknowledge the presence of the younger man beside him, instead the Earl continued to stare into the flames silently.  
Tyki was right- in his true form there was nothing ugly about the Earl's body. Long-limbed with solid, powerful shoulders, the Earl was both taller and broader than Tyki, stubble roughened instead of clean shaven and altogether different from his lover, but not unattractive. If only the personality matched the packaging then perhaps Neah wouldn't be so reluctant, though the man could never match up to Tyki in any way.  
"Neah" his name was breathed, the deep voice rolling over the letters like a caress. That voice certainly matched the body, Neah thought absently, lowering his head in acknowledgement and the faintest hint of respect. "Earl."  
"Now, now, don't be like that" the other man admonished, reaching out and clasping a large hand over Neah's wrist.  
The Noah tried not to flinch at the touch, but the Earl noticed anyway and the grip tightened. "What's the matter Neah?" this time the words were growled, a threat and a promise. "Is my touch so repugnant to you?" he hissed, jerking Neah closer so suddenly that he stumbled, only just catching himself on the back of the chair so that he was hanging over the other man, staring down with wide startled eyes.  
"N..no" he managed, the words sounding choked. "Not at all, I…"  
"Or perhaps" the Earl interrupted smoothly, his hand clenching on Neah's wrist in a warning to stop talking, "it is because I am not Tyki."  
Neah's heart shuddered to a stop, and no matter how he tried, he could not prevent the half-smothered gasp or shock-widened hands that were impossible to hide.  
He attempted to free his arm, stepping backwards and trying to put some distance between them, but the grip on his wrist was too strong to brek away from. "I don't know what you mean! I… he… you..." he struggled more, his denials useless in the face of the Earl's calm, icy expression.  
"Now, now" the Earl chided again, giving the arm in his grip a sudden, sharp yank, catching the panicking Noah by surprise so that he fell off balance, sprawling across the Earl's lap, looking up at the other man in horror. "Don't be like that" the Earl continued, using the hand that wasn't clasped around the pale wrist to brush the dark hair from where it had fallen across the Noah's brow. "I'm sure we can come to some… arrangement."  
Neah shook his head, throwing himself off the Earl's knee and landing in a heap in front of the roaring fire. The sudden movement had dislodged the Earl's grip.  
The Earl stood, towering over the shorter man who cringed back a little, all pride forgotten in the face of the Earl's fury.  
"Do not forget your place, Musician" he sneered the title, backhanding the young Noah across the face. "And NEVER forget that you are not irreplaceable."  
Neah wiped away the trickle of blood from his lip where he had cut it against his teeth with the force of the blow. He tried to glare at the Earl but quickly averted his eyes. He didn't want to admit it, even in his own head, but right now the Earl terrified him. He gingerly got to his feet, edging away from the Earl as he did so.  
"What kind of arrangement?" he asked bitterly.  
As though at the flick of a switch, the Earl beamed at him, fury wiped out in the blink of an eye. He gave an indulgent chuckle. "I'm so glad you asked" he smiled. "It's pretty simple- be mine, or Tyki-pet will die."  
Noah closed his eyes. There was no question as to what his answer would be, and he knew that the Earl knew that. The Noah might not be the most moralistic of people, but they were loyal to those they loved. 'I'm so sorry Tyki'  
"If you promise to leave Tyki completely alone, I'll do it."  
"Done" the Earl said with a sharp nod of his head. He bowed low, his curly hair, so like Tyki's hanging over his eyes and giving him the appearance of an overgrown schoolboy, an image his next words destroyed. "Your body now belongs to me, and I'll kill anyone else who dares to touch you." He straightened abruptly, gesturing to a door half hidden in the darkness. "After you."  
_

0o0o0o0

Neah blinked open his eyes, looking around blearily. It had been a long time since he had given his past much thought so he couldn't understand why the memory had come back to him now of all times. He'd claim nostalgia if those memories were not of the event that ruined his life.

He idly scratched his nose, heaving a sigh and watching his breath condense in the frigid air. It was as he was contemplating the shapes his breath made as it drifted away that he realised that something was, well, not _wrong_ per se, but very different. He was actually physically scratching his nose. Allen's nose. Whatever.

It was unnerving actually. Sure he'd been able to grab control for moments when Allen was weak and distracted, and had happened when, even on a subconscious level, they were aiming for the same goal. And then it had only been partial control- this was different- more complete.

Curiously he attempted to stand, but whether his control was less complete than he thought, or he'd forgotten how legs work, but either way he couldn't get them to co-operate.

Deciding that standing wasn't going to happen for a moment at least, Neah leant back against the chilly wall and closed his eyes. As he fell into a meditative state, he began to search his mind for Allen's presence. If the boy could talk to the Noah when he was in control, it stood to reason that the reverse was also true.

The boy wasn't dead, that much the Noah could ascertain- he suspected that once the accommodator died, the innocence would revert to its natural form, although if only Allen's spirit died, the body wouldn't have physically been dead, so would it? But the new spirit inhabiting the body was a Noah, carrier of Dark Matter, the opposite of innocence, so would that actually matter? Damn he was confusing himself. The important thing was that he was pretty sure that Allen wasn't dead.

Wasn't very alive either, if the way that Neah felt in this body was any indication.

Allen had been sicker than he had thought, it was no wonder that he'd passed out. He searched his mind for the other presence, poking into the deepest recesses to try and locate where Allen was hidden.

When it was the other way around, it had seemed very easy to locate each other, but now Neah felt himself breaking into a sweat as he struggled to trawl through the darkness in his mind. He didn't remember it being this dark usually either.

He winced at that thought- he had once believed that he had just as much right too this body as Allen did. Sure the boy had been born into it, but without the Noah's memories, his very presence, Allen would have died a hundred times over by now. But now the more he thought about it the more he realised that he was nothing more than the parasite that Allen had once called him. just being in this darkness showed what a negative impact he had on their shared mind.

Feeling guilty and not knowing why, he continued his mental search, eventually stumbling up6n a small flickering light, burning resolutely through the darkness like a single candle flame. It was so out of place in the otherwise solid darkness that Neah instinctively knew that it had something to do with Allen. There was certainly no aspect of his own soul that could produce such a pure light.

He followed the light, which, now that he looked at it properly, was actually rather vague and nebulous, flickering in and out of existence irregularly, and every time he drew close it winked away only to reappear at a distance, even fainter than before.

He moved quicker, worried about what this dying flame meant for Allen.

He wanted to kill the Earl, he had more reason to hate the man than anyone else. He wanted to take his place and make the world suffer as he had, but now he wondered if he could go through with it. Was his revenge worth this boy's life?

Allen also wished the Earl dead, would it be so difficult to work with him to achieve that? Would half his dream, half his revenge, be enough?

Eventually the light stopped retreating, highlighting a corner- though where a corner came from in a place with no wall was a mystery.

And huddled in this impossible corner was Allen Walker.

But not Allen Walker as Neah remembered him.

Skeletal and pale, with spindly limbs and hair that may have been white, or brown, or purple even for all the distinctiveness it held in the gloom. His eyes were closed and breath whistled between slightly parted dry and chapped lips.

Neah should have been happy- it was clear that Allen was on his way out, and he didn't even have top do anything.

But he couldn't leave Allen like this- the boy was so close to death. He knew that just by looking at his appearance, and not just what the physical appearance was- it seemed that Allen didn't even have the strength to project the mental image of himself- the one that people think of when they visualise themselves in their own head.

Neah gulped. This was it- crunch time. He could either leave Allen here where he would quietly slip away, to leave Neah in total control of his body for good and allowing him to take the long awaited revenge on the Earl that he had been dreaming about since before the Earl killed him and then he'd finally be able to take his place and finally, _finally_ be able to live the life he wanted or...

Or...

He could try and save the little exorcist. They could work together to defeat the Earl. Neah would never replace him, and would either fade away still locked in the boy's mind or have to spend the rest of his existence (because it wouldn't be a _life_) sharing Allen's body.

Neither choice sat well with him, for very different reasons.

What it came down to was a simple question. Could he sit back and allow his adoptive nephew to die?

He sat in consideration for several minutes. The innocence in Allen's body was fighting against him, he could feel it trying to resist him. Since neither he nor the innocence were at the top of their game, it was currently a stalemate, but the Noah knew that eventually the innocence would win- it was more thoroughly entrenched in the flesh and blood of its accommodator, whereas he merely possessed the mind. He felt it in every beat of Allen's heart and he was reminded that it was the innocence that made it so. Without it, Allen would have died long ago from the hole Tyki had created there.

Still, he was in control at that moment, even if he couldn't move.

Could he do it? Could he let Allen die?

No, he decided. If Allen died in a way that he could not have helped, then perhaps he could, with a clear conscience, use the boy's body to serve his purpose, but not right now, not when he could do something to stop it.

His options were limited however. The body he was occupying was refusing to obey his commands, and even if he could move, he was miles away from help, weak and tired- he'd never make it to civilisation before he simply collapsed and died.

There was therefore only one course of action, one he knew that Allen would never approve of, one that could quite easily backfire and kill him anyway.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, allowing his consciousness to spread out. It had been a long time since he had used this technique, but the ease with which his mind spread came as no suprise3 to him- it was a sensation easily forgot.

He felt his mind slip over the blazing consciousness of humans, the fainter pinpricks of animals and- there!- the sinister, pulsing dark-light of a trapped soul. He called out to the Akuma, mind-voice travelling the miles like inches.

"Akuma. Find Me."

* * *

Did I mention it's my birthday?


	7. Chapter 6

Sooo... I bet everyone hates me don't they? I can't believe that I basically abandoned this story after saying that I hated people who did that. I have an excuse though (several actually) I met the love of my life and hopefully soon to be Mr Aerika a little over a year ago and he has stolen all my time- I have become addicted to Minecraft thanks to said love of my life- I took on more stuff at work so I could no longer write during the day- I wrote bits and pieces over the summer ready to start to finish this fic in the autumn... and had a crash on my motorbike. So, twice broken right leg, once broken left leg, both broken wrists, broken neck and badly broken face (nose, eyesockets, upper jaw, lower jaw, cheekbones) later, and I have regained enough consciousness and ease of movement when it comes to typing to get back into the swing of things.

So I do apologise for this and hope I haven't given many people a heart attack when they saw that I updated. Thank you so much to the people who have reviewed and encouraged me to finish this fic- it was greatly appreciated.

* * *

Chapter 6

Neah stared in shock at the figure standing at the entrance to the cave he was currently squatting in. Never in his wildest dreams did he even imagine that his plan could have gone so spectacularly wrong. His call was supposed to have attracted an Akuma, one hopefully stupid enough to see him and think 'Noah' rather than be able to think for itself. But no, not only did karma hate him, she thought that he deserved to be royally fucked too, for not only was another Noah standing in the entrance of the cave, it was none other than Tyki Mikk.

Neah threw his arms into the air with a put-upon sigh. There was no way he'd be able to fight Tyki- certainly not if he wanted to live at any rate. "Fantastic. Just the man I wanted to see" he drawled sarcastically, cocking his head to one side. Tyki looked a little shell-shocked. Perhaps Neah should have taken the chance and charged at him- maybe he could have thrown him off the mountain. "Are you coming in or are you planning on standing in the doorway all night?"

Tyki jumped, startled, and took a few steps inside out of the weather, shaking snow from his hair as he did so. "Walker?"

"Guess again, genius."

Tyki stumbled, spreading a hand out across the wall to keep his balance as he stared disbelieving at the figure sprawled lazily on the floor. He took a couple of wobbly steps forward before collapsing to his knees beside Neah and gripping his face between both hands, turning it this way and that, taking in the pale skin, yellow-green eyes and hair that was darker than the brown that he remembered on Allen Walker when they met in Beauvais. "Neah?" he breathed, as though he hardly dared to believe his own eyes.

"Hello lover" Neah smirked back, an expression that was lost when Tyki swept down and kissed him firmly.

* * *

_Tyki looked up in surprise when the door to the room he and Neah usually shared was flung open and the Noah stumbled gracelessly through the door, falling to his knees just over the threshold as the door swung closed behind him.  
He jumped to his feet and ran to Neah's side, dropping to the floor beside him and wrapping his arms around the other Noah's trembling shoulders. "What the hell happened to you?" he asked as Neah collapsed into him, his face pale and sweat-beaded.  
Neah tried to push him away, his hands fluttering like leaves on the wind. "Nothing, it's fine."  
"Don't even think about trying to lie to me, I can see that it's not fine!" Tyki snarled, giving Neah a little shake. "Now, tell me what happened!"  
Neah wouldn't meet his eyes. "It's nothing Tyki, just leave it." He got to his feet shakily, one hand moving to the small of his back as he used the door to haul himself upright. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get my things."  
"What are you talking about?" Tyki asked, still sitting on the floor. "What things? Where are you going?"  
"To my own room" Neah replied shortly as he grabbed a bag and began stuffing clothes into it hurriedly. Tears gathered in his eyes and he dashed them away roughly, determined not to let Tyki see him upset. He had to get out of here before the Earl's time limit of one hour ran out. He didn't even want to begin to imagine what would happen to Tyki if he outstayed his welcome.  
Tyki jumped to his feet, reaching out and grasping Neah's wrist as he shoved more clothes into the bag resting on the bed. "No, there's something wrong, and you're going to tell me what it is! What did he say to you? What did he _do _to you?" When the shorter man didn't reply, Tyki shook the thin wrist he held sharply. "Dammit Neah, _talk_ to me!"  
Neah didn't look at him, but he reached over and gently disengaged Tyki's grip on his arm. "It doesn't matter. I just need to stay in my own room from now on."  
"NO!" Tyki yelled angrily. "That's not good enough! I love you! Why are you doing this? What did the Earl do?!"  
"Nothing! He didn't do anything alright!"  
"Neah..." Tyki tried, his voice gentling as he put his arms around his shaking lover. "Please... I can't stand to see you like this, please, tell me what's going on!" he begged, the sight of Neah's tears tugging at his heart.  
Neah tried to shrug off his arms, but he was shaking too much to do anything effectually, and only succeeded in half-dislodging Tyki's arm which shifted and dragged Neah's loose shirt from his shoulder.  
Tyki's next words were stopped dead in his mouth when he saw the ugly purple bruise on the smaller man's shoulder- no, not a bruise... it was a bite mark. A mark that Tyki knew for sure that he had not put there. It was large and brutal, red where teeth had broken the skin and Tyki knew that it had not been caused by anything that resembled affection.  
Neah must have noticed his sudden stillness because he jumped away, dragging the sleeve back up his arm and keeping his eyes firmly fixed on the floor, not looking anywhere near where Tyki stood, frozen in horror as he stared at Neah with wide golden eyes.  
"Neah..." he whispered. "Why?"  
Neah still couldn't meet his eyes as he continued to put his clothes away in the bag. "I had to."  
"But... but...why?" TYki implored, confusion all over his handsome face.  
Neah smiled sadly, his eyes, so desperate and heartbreakingly distressed, finally rose up to look at Tyki. "Because the Earl wants me, and he'll go through you to get me."  
"You can't do this! I'm not worth that! Nothing is!"  
"You are. I have to."  
"Neah, no. I'm not worth you giving yourself over to that... that man. Nothing is worth having to-"  
"Tyki, love, honestly, you think I'd rather see you dead by his hand? He may have my body but he'll never have my heart- that belongs only to you. This arrangement will only last until I know you're safe and I can rid us of that menace forever."  
"Get rid of the Earl? Neah, what are you talking about?"  
"That man... that _monster_- I hate him Tyki. And I'll do anything and everything in my power to make him pay. Whatever it takes" Neah swore vehemently, his hands fisting at his sides. Tyki walked to his side and placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to offer comfort but knowing that nothing he could say or do would help his lover.  
"I understand. Do what you have to do. But know this- I love you, I will always love you. I will always be here for you. I will do anything to help you, but I need you to trust me, to tell me everything."  
Neah sighed, knowing that Tyki would not be dissuaded. "Alright. You see..."_

* * *

Tyki couldn't believe what he was seeing- Neah, his Neah, alive and well and in the body of disgraced exorcist Allen Walker. His life had never been conventional but this was beyond bizarre. After he had finally got over the fact that his ex-lover was sitting in this dank cave halfway up a mountain, he could move onto the more important topics.  
"Where the hell have you been?" he asked helplessly, staring across the campfire that he had lit in the middle of the small cavern at the other Noah. Neah was looking a little worse for wear- thin and drawn and tired, but he seemed cheerful enough, knees pulled up to his chest with his arms looped loosely around them, staring into the depth of the flames.

The other man sighed. "After I left you, I tried to find a way to defeat the Earl, but there was nothing. No clue- I had no idea where to start and every time I thought I was getting close, he would call for me. I think he knew what I was up to, but he never said anything. I think I must have never posed much of a threat to him if he never tried to stop me from researching..." Neah sighed again, shuffling closer to the warmth of the fire. "But, one day, he just snapped- something I said, something I did... I still don't know what it was" which was a total lie, but there was no way that Neah was going to tell Tyki that the Earl had threatened to take the older Noah in Neah's place. The threat against the man he loved had been the final straw and Neah had forgotten all of his careful plans and smart theories and blindly attacked the older man. He hadn't stood a chance. "He killed me. I don't remember much about it, but I think it was pretty violent." He shook his head. "Then the next thing I remember I was awake inside this _child._ I had no idea how it had happened, why my memories had been awoken in this strange little boy, but as time went on I realised that my memories had not awoken- this boy was not the newest 14th Noah, he was just a little homeless child. I was forced to watch him grow up- aware but unable to influence. It was hard- and the worst thing was, this child bore innocence- he was destined to be an exorcist." Neah rubbed his arms against the goosebumps that had risen there. Those early years, before Allen had met Mana, had been tough and hard- there had been times when he didn't think that the young child would survive.  
"Mana found us. He must have known who we were, though he never told Allen ay of it. I don't know how he found us... it had been years, so he couldn't have been watching from the start..." Neah sighed again, shaking his head ruefully. He still didn't understand how it was that his brother had finally managed to track him down, but he had recognised this elder sibling almost immediately, despite the clown costume. The little, then nameless, boy had approached the man to mourn the dead dog, but Neah had wondered often in the years since whether something else had drawn these two together. He had never found out. When Mana had died, he had been so overcome with grief that he had retreated into the dark, and had not become aware until the Earl stood before Allen, offering to bring Mana back to life. He had been unable to stop his brother's rebirth as an Akuma, and though he was grateful that Allen's innocence had awoken and freed Mana's trapped soul, he had hated the boy for being so weak. The curse was apt- a reminder of the suffering that Allen had inflicted on his own adopted father. Neah still hated Allen a little bit for that moment of weakness.  
"And now you have control of this body, what will you do? Stay hidden? Try to fight the Earl?" Tyki asked, standing and moving to sit next to the younger man.  
"No. I am going to save Allen Walker from disappearing completely, and help him in any way I can. This is not my war any more, but that doesn't mean I can't help Allen do what he needs to."

Tyki stared at his ex-lover's face for several moments, stunned into silence. Ever since the Earl had forced himself onto the young Noah, all Neah had wanted was to get his revenge- but now… he was giving it all up for this boy, this... this exorcist? He couldn't even begin to understand.  
"Why?" he implored when it became clear that Neah wasn't going to offer a further explanation. "Why would you give it all up… for him?"  
Neah's smile was small, but warm and soft and everything that Tyki did not expect to see on the face of any Noah when discussing a member of the Black Order.  
"Because he's special" Neah said quietly, the smile not leaving his face even as he turned to face the older Noah and gaze earnestly into his amber eyes, willing him to understand. "He reminds me of myself, before all this happened. And look at what became of me when I gave into revenge! Allen could have so easily become me when the Order turned on him, he could have looked for revenge against those he had trusted, but he didn't!" By this point Neah's voice had risen to almost a shout and his hands were fisted in the front of Tyki's shirt. He cleared his throat awkwardly and shuffled back, lowering his voice to a normal level as he continued. "He tried to help them, even though they would condemn him for it, and when it seemed like it would become too much for him, he sought to remove himself from the world to keep people safe. Allen is everything I should have been when the Earl…" after all these years he still couldn't say it, "did what he did. If I had not sought revenge, if I had come to you and told you what I was doing instead of facing it all alone…" his throat constricted on a lump that he couldn't seem to breathe around, his face twisted with the force of not choking on the sobs that wanted to burst from him. There would be no point in allowing himself to break down- what's passed is past and he would do well to remember that. It was too late for him and Tyki now, but if he could save Allen then perhaps his own redemption would follow. He took a deep breath, the urge to cry diminishing as his the ache in his chest dulled. He would forever regret what had happened in those weeks following his first, but certainly not last, visit to the Earl, but it was too late to look back on it now and wish it was different. "Allen deserves life, and love, and everything that I denied myself twenty years ago. And as it is in my power to help him, I shall do so" he finished, raising pale eyes to stare defiantly at Tyki. "And you have three choices: You can help me, or you can go away from this place and pretend that you never saw me." Neah sighed, hoping against hope that Tyki would take either of these options. He didn't think his already broken heart could stand it if he chose number three. "Or you can take me now to the Earl, where who knows what he will do to us. Allen and Me. He won't kill us, not now- if he did that he'd have to wait for the essence of the Fourteenth Noah to be reborn again in a new body, and he won't want to have to start the search for me all over again. But a person can be dead and still breathe Tyki, and I'm sure you know that the Earl won't even think twice about doing it."

Tyki did indeed know, and he also knew that no matter what had happened between himself and Neah in the past, hell, even what had happened between him and Allen Walker, it was not a fate he would wish on either of them. He bowed his head with a sigh. "I'll help, just tell me what you need."

The explanation has been as short and simple. By going into a meditative state Neah hoped to be able to reach into the part of their mind that Allen was resting in and draw him out. Tyki still didn't like it- from the rather concise explanation, he gathered that it was not, in fact, as simple as Neah was making out to be, and there was no end to the list of things that could go wrong.  
"Alright," Neah said, sitting on the floor with his legs folded in front of him, hands resting on his bent knees. "Allen is very weak right now, and I don't know how to wake him up. I need to talk with him, try and see if he'll come back to us without too much help on our parts, but," and he paused, scrunching up his face as he thought, "I'm not sure if that will work… he'd pretty much given up when we were in that cave. Between fighting the Akuma and fighting against me, he wore himself out. I'm not sure if he'll be up to coming back yet." He sighed, shaking his head "I just need to talk to him" he said again. He glanced up at Tyki who was sitting opposite him. "I don't know how long this will take, so I need you to look after us while I do this."  
Tyki nodded shortly, his expression worried. He wasn't sure if this was a good idea, but when he'd tried to voice this opinion Neah had given him a stern glare and told him this was the only way. So Tyki had agreed, but that didn't mean he was happy about it.

* * *

"Alright, here we go." Neah closed his eyes and settled his breathing, drifting through the layers of their shared consciousness until he came to the part that was 'Allen'. It was perhaps even darker than it had been previously, the distant, flickering grey flame weak and at times almost disappearing all together. Neah flinched- this was going to be harder than he had thought. When he arrived at the odd corner-that-wasn't in which Allen had tucked his consciousness, he drew in a sharp breath. The figure was ghost-like, delicate and fragile and far too thin- a fluttering presence clinging to life by a rapidly unravelling thread.  
Neah crouched beside the barely-there figure, sweeping stark white hair from Allen's forehead tenderly. As his fingers brushed Allen's skin, there was a small spark, barely noticeable even in the almost-dark, and Neah felt a small tug around his heart. When he looked down he saw that, though there was no difference to Allen's appearance, his breathing was a little more even, no longer catching as often as it had been before.  
Neah sighed and lay beside the other man, propping himself up on one arm as he freed Allen's right hand from beneath his cheek, laying it between them. As soon as he touched bare skin, that same tugging feeling crept through him, making him feel tired and worn-out, as though he hadn't slept in a week. He lay down completely, noticing just before he closed his eyes that Allen looked a little more solid than he had when he had first arrived, his breathing calm and even and his face was flushed a little.  
Then Neah only knew darkness.

* * *

Tyki stared in shock as the body of Allen Walker that contained the consciousness of his ex-lover collapsed sideways, slumping onto the hard wooden floor with his legs still tangled together, like a puppet with cut strings.  
After several seconds of just looking at the boy sprawled uncomfortably across his floor, Tyki jumped his feet, falling to his knees beside the crumpled figure and turning him onto his back. He immediately became worried- there was hardly any movement in the body- scarcely a breath stirred his chest and his face was lax and still, pale to the point of illness but without the grey pallor of death. Tyki didn't quite know what to make of it. He tried shaking the body by the shoulders a few times, calling first the name of the Noah who he knew resided inside, then the name of the person that the body actually belonged to. He hoped that Allen would not be the one in control of the body - if Neah hadn't explained everything to him in the short time since he had entered their combined mind, then the exorcist was bound to get a shock waking up in the arms of his enemy.  
However, no matter what he did (and that included a few pinches and slaps for good measure), neither Neah nor Allen opened their eyes.  
Resigned to a night of vigil at Neah's (Allen's? Just what was he supposed to call him?) bedside, he scooped the body up and laid him on the only bed in the house, tucking the covers around his neck before taking his place in a chair beside the bed. It was going to be a long night.

The next day dawned bright and clear and Tyki stretched lazily, luxuriating in the slash of sunlight that fell across his body, warming and relaxing him to a greater degree than anything else had in some time. Although he could do with spending less time sitting in such a hard chair as he had last night.  
That reminded him of his roommate and he glanced down at the figure in the bed. Nothing had changed overnight- in fact it looked as if Neah hadn't moved once- the covers were still smooth and unwrinkled and pulled up to his chin.  
Tyki sighed, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck and he stood and stretched again, arching his back until he heard the satisfying pops of his joints settling back into place. Really, he was far too old to be sleeping upright on hard wooden chairs.  
He reached out and lay a hand across Neah's forehead. The skin was not feverish as Tyki had expected given Neah's sudden collapse, it was cooler than a normal person's temperature, but not worryingly so. Unlike last night however, there was some life painted on the pale features- a delicate blush lit high cheek bones, picking out the scar that carved its way down Neah's left cheek. It felt strange to think of his ex-lover with the features of Allen Walker- the boy was outwardly so different to the previous incarnation of the Fourteenth Noah, although after Neah's impassioned rant before, he could see that the two were more alike than he could have ever imagined. He reached out to touch the scar softly. He wasn't sure what he expected- an indentation in the flesh, a rise? But there was no difference from the actual scar to the skin surrounding it. He traced it to the bottom where it tapered near Neah's jaw- as smooth as it had always been- Neah had never been able to grow facial hair, something that had annoyed him once upon a time- being the baby-faced Noah had always been Rhodes place, not his, and it appeared that seventeen year old Allen Walker suffered from the same inability, before following the gently twisting line back up his face, ending with his fingers running around the outline of the downturned pentagram. He swept downy brown hair, complete with its snowy white roots, away to see the face better.

Allen Walker had been a pretty boy. He had noticed that when he had first met the lad without even knowing who and what he was, but he had matured into a beautiful young man, unusual and exotic. Knowing that the man he had loved was living within such an exquisite shell brought a sly smile to his face. Neah was determined to save this boy's life, but if he couldn't and was forced to take the empty body as his own, well, Tyki didn't think that he's raise any objections.  
He thought back to the graveyard in Beauvais, his reaction at seeing the then-disguised Allen Walker. The long brown hair and deep dark eyes had been pleasant, though not remarkable , shielding the beauty behind a veil of ordinariness, and he had flirted merely to wind up the Japanese exorcist.  
Later, knowing who he was, and hearing the stories that Allen's roommate Josephine has told of Allen's exploits with the dark-haired exorcist, the strange need had crept back, twisting and burying and insinuating itself into his mind.

Slowly he leaned down, brushing his lips across the dry chapped ones of the still figure on the bed, feeling the small puff of air caress his face with every exhalation. He drew back, smirking to himself, reminded of the fairy tale where the prince woke the sleeping princess with a kiss.  
As he watched the non-responsive form on the bed, a thought struck him. What would happen if this body died? It was a human body, easily dispatched, and the human soul along with it, but what of the Noah spirit that also called the fragile human shell home? Would the essence of the Fourteenth also die, or would it come to the forefront, taking over as permanent resident?  
Could he risk it? If he succeeded, then he'd have Neah back. Even if the younger Noah hated him for doing it, he's eventually come round, and then they could go back to the way they were. They didn't even have to join the Earl once more- in fact that was probably the best idea- Neah should stay as far away from the Earl as possible. Tyki would not miss being one of the Earl's puppets, not if he had his lover by his side once more.

And if he failed, he'd be no worse off than he was now, would he?

Decisively, he tugged the pillow from beneath the head before clamping it across Allen's face. There was no struggle, no fight as he slowly suffocated the life out of the figure in the bed.

* * *

Neah woke up groggily, with the distinct feeling that something was very wrong. Beside him Allen didn't move except to twitch a finger, but even though it seemed like nothing had changed since Neah had arrived, he realised that that simply wasn't true. Even as he watched, Allen's face became a degree paler, his lips turning blue as though he couldn't breathe… Neah gasped out loud- Allen was suffocating! What the hell was going on? He snarled, scrambling to his feet. "TYKI MIKK! What the HELL do you think you are doing!?" he screamed into the air, but there was no answer, only the slowly decreasing breaths of the figure who lay beside him. Neah dropped to his knees at Allen's side. "Oh no you don't Walker, don't you even think about it! I haven't dragged you this far to have you give up now, you hear me you little bastard?"  
He bent down low, his head resting on Allen's chest as he tried to listen to the faint heartbeat. It was decreasing rapidly and Allen's chest hardly moved with each hitching breath. "Damn you Tyki, what the hell were you thinking?" he muttered, wringing his hands together pathetically. He was no good in a crisis like this- he was a Noah- he took lives, he didn't save them!  
Briefly, the thought that perhaps this was for the best crossed his mind. If Allen was gone… NO! He couldn't think like that- he didn't want Allen to die- he liked the boy too much to allow that to happen. Vaguely remembering instructions from a past life, another lifetime ago, he tilted Allen's chin back and clamped his fingers over his nose, not even knowing if he was doing this right, and pressed his mouth to Allen's, preparing to blow air in his ailing lungs. What he wasn't prepared for however, was the sudden flash of light that swept through their joined mind as soon as their lips touched, nor the darkness that followed.

* * *

Tyki didn't know how he knew, but he could see the moment that life left the already stock still body on the bed. It was as though every muscle had gone lax, though they hadn't been tensed to begin with, and he almost fancied he heard the last sighing breath whisper between dry lips.  
He removed the pillow and waited. Hopefully if his theory was correct, Neah would be waking up any minute. Probably very pissed off, but alive and no longer the co-resident of a body. Fixing a welcoming, though smug smile on his face, Tyki sat back, lacing his fingers together across the pillow on his stomach, the very same pillow he had just used to smother his ex-lover (no, he told himself firmly, Allen Walker. I killed Allen Walker). The thought made him a little giddy- he had been trying to kill that accursed exorcists for so long now, and finally, finally he had done it- in the most simple and non-violent way- a gentle pillow over a sleeping face, and Allen never knew what was happening to him.  
His attention was attracted by the flicking movement of a finger, a precursor to the whole hand movement that followed, almost jerking the limb from the bed. Another full-body twitch and then Neah was gasping, his head bowed back as his back arched, a hoarse scream falling from his lips.  
"Neah, Neah, calm down, it's just me, it's Tyki, you're alright, it's okay…" Tyki murmured into the other Noah's ear, cradling him close and rocking him steadily. Gently he eased back, trying to look into the smaller man's eyes to judge how much trouble he was in.

As it turned out, he probably couldn't have been in more trouble than he was right then. But not because he was currently cradling his furious ex-lover who he could have just murdered, but because the eyes that looked back at him held no recognition at all. They were bright, aware, watching him curiously, but they were not Neah's eyes.

They were not even Allen Walker's.


End file.
